1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an enamel coated bullet that prevents barrel leading and to a method of making an enamel coated bullet.
2. Background of the Invention
Repeated firing of a gun will often lead to barrel fouling. Barrel fouling occurs when the interior of a gun barrel becomes coated with remnants of the bullet material. The material (such as lead) accumulates and eventually covers the rifling grooves, thereby reducing the accuracy of the gun. In extreme cases, fouling prevents the bullet from passing through the barrel. Often, the blockage causes gases to build up behind the bullet, leading to explosion.
Lead is the most popular material from which bullets are made. Lead is relatively soft as compared to other metals. This softness has both beneficial and detrimental aspects. Beneficially, the softness allows a lead bullet to obturate the inside diameter of the barrel upon firing. Bullet obturation prevents the high pressure gases from escaping around the edges of the bullet and confines those gases behind the bullet, thereby ensuring maximum propulsion of the bullet.
Detrimentally, friction between the hardened barrel and the soft lead bullet causes lead to deposit on the inside of the barrel, which results in the aforementioned barrel fouling (also known as “barrel leading,” particularly when lead bullets are used).
Barrel leading, or fouling, should be removed so as to avoid excessive deposits. Typically, the more that a gun is fired, the more that fouling will have to be removed. Removing barrel fouling generally involves a solvent and a wire brush. Excessive leading may require soaking the barrel in a solvent for an extended period of time. Cleaning a barrel requires dismantling of the gun, which can be time-consuming and can lead to improper reassembly.
Shooters try to combat barrel leading in a variety of ways. One way is to use a bullet made of a harder alloy. However, harder bullets do not always obturate the barrel, causing the bullet to bounce around the barrel, leaving scraps of material behind. Also, absent bullet obturation, the hot, pressurized gases blow past the bullet, melting the surface layer of the bullet. This too leaves deposits in the barrel.
Another popular way of reducing leading is to place a jacket of a harder material around the outside of the bullet. The most common jacket material is copper. The harder outer jacket expands enough to obturate the barrel, while preventing the soft lead from contacting the hardened barrel. Jacketed ammunition helps to avoid barrel leading, but it is also much more expensive than its unjacketed counterpart. Also, most at-home bullet casters do not have the equipment or machine skills to apply a metal jacket to a bullet.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for an application to a standard lead bullet that allows the bullet to obturate the barrel, thereby preventing leading. The method should be capable of being applied by amateur bullet casters.